Insurance Firms Will Pay For Damage, Says A-G

Insurance companies have assured Government that everyone who has had cyclone coverage on their properties will be paid out if properties were damaged by Tropical Cyclone Winston.

Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday met with the insurance companies and insurance brokers following concerns that no cover for a Category 5 Cyclone.

He said “there seems to be a lot of misinformation that despite having cyclone coverage, you will not be paid. This is not true.”

He said in 24 hours, the insurance companies would make an announcement.

“We have been given the assurance by the insurance companies, and if the insurance cover for your homes covers cyclone, irrespective of the category of the cyclone, you would of course be covered, but you would need the Engineer’s Certificate- that is very critical.”

However, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum explained that damage to fences and outer boundaries would not be covered.

“Anything that is attached to the certified building will be covered. There has not been many claims but nonetheless they have given us this assurance.”

Government also had a series of meetings with financial institutions through which banks have agreed to provide unsecured loans for home repairs with a repayment term of five years.

The interest rate agreed for any such unsecured loans has been set to 4.5 per cent, with a repayment term of five years.

“That makes it a very reasonable time to make your loan repayments. There will also be a waiver of the loan application fees and of course, it is applicable to people who have been affected by the cyclone. The offer period is for three months.”

“FNPF has announced that members are eligible to withdraw $1000.

“We have had some instances when some non-members have turned up to withdraw money.

“A withdrawal of $5000 is made available for home repairs and in cases where people’s entire homes have been damaged, a further amount would be provided from the Fund.”